Page Under Renovation.

 

I am a writer,   suburban Philadelphia with my husband and two children. I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, where I developed my love for the outdoors alongside my love of writing. It was my eleventh grade English teacher who helped me to realize my passion for writing and inspired me to go on to teaching. After graduating from Washington and Lee University with a B.A. in English, I went on to earn a secondary teaching certification at Westminster College and an M.A. in Writing Studies from Saint Joseph's University.

 

In 2000, I began my teaching career in Clarksville, Tennessee, where my husband was stationed with the 101st Airborne Division, and later moved to Philadelphia, where I continued teaching high school English, coached tennis, ran the high school newspaper and taught the creative writing and journalism electives. Although I loved my students, colleagues and days in the classroom, I found myself pushing my writing aside in order to keep up with professional requirements. In addition, I wanted to spend more time with my own children, who were growing up fast.

 

In 2012, I made the decision to resign my teaching position in order to focus on my family and my writing. Since then, I have written profiles on military veterans for two start-up companies, built a Twitter presence for VetsForward, published several personal essays, and continued to write some fiction. I am now at work on a novel. In addition, I teach in the Young Writers' Day program in Delaware and Chester Counties (PA), serve as a volunteer writing coach for Philadelphia Futures during their annual College Marathon and am a regular participant in the Greater Philadelphia Wordshop Studio.